Wolf System stage combat training

The Wolf System is designed to teach a series of fundamental movement and/or performance skills, which are divided into the following categories:

Synergy - non-verbal, especially tactile responsiveness and communication
Articulation - cycles of preparation, action and reaction in performing stage combat techniques, both for the safety of the performers and for clarity of live or on-camera performance
Illusion - methods of misdirection and of concealing certain safety measures from the audience or camera to preserve the illusion of actual combat
Alignment - methods of skeletal alignment supported by muscular control as used in maintaining balance and in supporting another person's body weight
Extension - methods of projecting momentum
Cascade - methods of safely moving from a standing position to the floor by collapsing or rolling
Measure - methods of judging the active distance between oneself and another person

Of the above, both Articulation and Illusion are specific to the use of the Wolf System in stage combat training. The two fundamental premises of the Wolf System in stage combat are defined as Safety and Storytelling, both with reference to performance combat as a skill of theatrical illusion.

Some of the games and exercises may be performed individually while others may be performed in pairs or by groups of up to 20 people.

Participants in this form of training constantly alternate between co-operating and competing with their partner(s) during different exercises. Co-operative games require the participants to work together to achieve a specific result, such as balancing against each other's bodies while in physically awkward positions or keeping their hands in contact while performing various improvised movement exercises. Competitive games require the participants to work against each other, as in contests of balance and speed.

Participants also alternate between moving "in character" and as themselves, between improvised and choreographed exercises and between assuming active and passive roles during the various exercises.

To perform Wolf System exercises with a partner or in a group environment is known as jamming, a term borrowed from contact improvisation and from jazz.

The Wolf System can be used to introduce combative concepts and skills to students who may not have any previous background in fencing, martial arts or related disciplines. Also, the open-ended nature of the exercises allow participants to experiment with a wide range of unusual fighting techniques and styles, including many that are not typically offered in more orthodox stage combat or martial arts training programs.

• Wolf, Tony: "Action Design: New Directions in Fight Choreography", Martial Arts in the Modern World, Praeger Publications, 2003
• Wolf, Tony: "Kampf ist Emotion", Cast magazine, issue 6, Germany, December-January 2005
• Wolf System website